Packaging of a plurality of articles (e.g., bottles or cans) in basket-type carriers has become increasingly popular, particularly where the packaged articles, when empty, are requested to be returned to the place of purchase. Thus, the carrier must be of rugged, sturdy construction and capable of repeated usage and easy to manually reload.
Various carriers of this general type have heretofore been provided, however, because of certain inherent design characteristics, such carriers, are beset with one or more of the following shortcomings: (a) the carrier and handle therefor require an inordinate amount of material and are difficult and awkward to set up; (b) the carrier handle remains in a fixed extended position thereby oftentimes interfering with the stacking of a plurality of loaded carriers; (c) the handle is weak and uncomfortable to grasp for any extended period of time; (d) the carrier is incapable of accommodating a variety of articles; and (e) the carrier handle is disposed in such a way relative to the accommodated articles that the accessibility of the handle for gripping is impaired.